The nights are drawing in and winter is almost upon us but that doesn’t mean your golf season has to finish!

HEAD GREENKEEPER’S COURSE REPORT

Contrary to belief given this week’s welcome mild weather, Winter probably hasn’t finished just yet. After recording temperatures of minus-8 and minus-10 degrees Centigrade at Wike Ridge last week (this being the lowest I can remember in seven years at the club with the exception of a bone-chilling minus-16 degrees C in 2010), I’m cautious about predicting that the days of temporary greens are behind us. However, as March approaches, the likelihood of further cold snaps diminishes and we can all look forward to getting the 2012 season properly underway.

Despite ground conditions being extremely solid, everyone will be delighted to know that the tree-transplanting and care programme has now been completed! Every single one of the 950 relocated trees has received attention from us, some more than once – I want to say a genuine thank you to my team who have worked their socks off in some of the worst weather conditions we’ve had to contend with.

Aside from snow-clearing and car park gritting to grant access to the club during the heaviest falls, we’ve managed to drain the bottom of the fairway on hole-6 as well as the area to the right of the winter tees on hole-12.

In terms of progress with the Wike Ridge championship course, excellent progress is now visible for all to see – again, work has not been halted by the cold weather which is fantastic news. Shaping of the new fourth green and fifth tee is completed, as is phase one of the new watercourse in front of the sixth green. Now the latest work – removal of topsoil from the new lake adjacent to the twelfth green – shows what a large body of water this will be too. All being well, 2012 is going to be a memorable year at Leeds Golf Centre – I for one can’t wait to see the new course coming to life in the coming months.

The week ahead, ground condition permitting, we will be putting a drain into the sixth green plus some other cosmetic works in this area – and hopefully finishing the verti-draining to tees, tongues and collars too. Hope to see you out there.